Navigating North Devon's transportation transformation

Devon County Council is the statutory transport authority: they are responsible for the construction and maintenance of highways and footpaths. One of DCC’s policies is to make better connectivity and the delivery of better sustainable transport that will reduce vehicle congestion.

Recently, the 20 week Fremington/Roundswell Cedars roundabout works were completed and we can all breath a sigh of relief; no one could had imagined the fallout from one roundabout would be heard on regional news, read in the local papers
and debated in Parliament.

Highway projects that turn Barnstaple and Fremington to gridlock cause untold damage including to the local economy and social wellbeing that effects towns as far away as Bideford and Ilfracombe (including making buses unable to keep to timetable).

Luckily, civil engineering projects are not always draconian and DCC has future projects to benefit the bus services around Barnstaple. In 2022, DCC was allocated £14.1m Bus Service Improvement Plan funding by the Department for Transport with future aspirations on services included.

Firstly, Bideford/Barnstaple Western Bus Corridor: Roundswell Bus Lane. This scheme will improve bus priority and gain a reduction saving of 1 minute of journey time that equates to a 6 per cent reduction along this often congested corridor (anyone who listens to The Voice, Traffic and Travel on the radio will know this is the reviewed area on the beginning of the morning programs).

Included in the scheme is a new footway on the western side of the A3125 that will lead from the a39 service station towards Roundswell Fishleigh Road; delivering a safe and accessible active travel corridor.

What will impress the readers is knowing that there are no planned road closures to commence this project to completion
and will not have to move multiple utility pipes unlike the Cedars roundabout. The final outcome will be an increased capacity for all road users and not just the buses.

This bus lane will then be in place and ready for when future localized upcoming housing developments require a bus to service that community.

Secondly, Barnstaple railway station interchange.

This fully funded project will transform the front of the railway station and improve connectivity between rail and bus services that will be delivered and compliment the upcoming electric buses which will supersede the 21/21a diesel fleet services.

Many bus users will know that Station Road can be very challenging for bus time delivery so DCC has proposed to run all services along Sticklepath Terrace towards Barnstaple town with a new bus access at the end which will alleviate congestion and improve bus reliability for bus users heading towards the bus station.

This new interchange will make sure all buses are loading and offloading users in front of the railway station – making the station more accessible without the need to cross the road.

The station will also include new shelters with passenger information screens and cycle parking.

The public consultation for this interchange is open now until 26.6.24.

To find the consultation search on your internet browser for ‘Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) in North Devon’. Please realise that the funding for the BSIP scheme is non-transferrable so it cannot be used to repair potholes or for the purchase additional GWR carriages on the North Devon (Tarka) line.

The Tarka Rail Association still campaigns to improve the capacity for Barnstaple to Exeter GWR services and has stakeholder-
supported aspirations to reuse Barnstaple platform 2 for early morning services and bringing in charter services from other areas of the nation.

The Bus Service Improvement Plan is the first increment in delivering a transformational sustainable transport service for
Northern Devon.